Russia–Argentina Council of Entrepreneurs discusses performance in 2017 and looks at plans for the next year28 December 2017

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Moscow – The Russia–Argentina Council of Entrepreneurs discussed its performance in 2017 and plans for the next year. The meeting was chaired by Andrey Guryev, PhosAgro's CEO, Chairman of the Council, and member of the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

The event was attended by Ricardo Ernesto Lagorio, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Argentina in Russia, Alexander Shchetinin, Director of the Latin American Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Nosov, Deputy Director of the Department for Asia, Africa and Latin America of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, Victor Cherepov, Executive Vice President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Tatiana Legchilina, Deputy Director of the Foreign Economic Relations and Business Councils Department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia, and representatives of Russian Railways, Sinara – Transport Machines, and RUSAL.

The corporates took this opportunity to thank the Council for supporting the interests of the Russian business community, in particular during the recent business mission to Argentina. The mission helped improve relations with the Argentinian counterparts and take considerable steps to bolster bilateral cooperation by setting up business ties with large Argentinian companies and government agencies. In collaboration with the federal authorities, the Intergovernmental Russian-Argentinian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia enhanced the position of Russian mineral fertilizer producers in international markets, including by negotiating the abolishment of Argentina's 6% import duties in August.

During a bilateral meeting with his Argentinian counterpart Jorge Faurie in November, Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, noted the importance of the joint forum held by the Russia–Argentina Council of Entrepreneurs for the relations between the two countries.

While still subject to additions and amendments, the agenda for the next year already looks fairly busy.

In January, Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina, is expected to visit Moscow;

In February, Moscow will be hosting the 13th meeting of the Intergovernmental Russian-Argentinian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation;

In 2018, Argentina will be chairing the G20 and B20 summits.

Ricardo Ernesto Lagorio, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Argentina, commented, “I would like to express my gratitude to the Council and Andrey Guryev personally for supporting my efforts here in Russia to revive the strategic partnership between our nations. For us, the next year of 2018 will indeed be a very important one, marked with events such as President Macri's visit to Russia, the G20 Summit, and the FIFA World Cup. Our cooperation has a lot of meaningful areas, including agriculture, railways, energy, and more. The government of Argentina has decided to appoint the Agricultural Attache here in Russia, which is a landmark event. We have only five people in this role globally. This shows just how significant the matter is to the Russian-Argentinian relations.”

Alexander Shchetinin, Director of the Latin American Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said, “I would like to thank Andrey Guryev for the business mission in Argentina in November. That was a very robust event, one we had not had for quite a while. The schedule for 2018 is very tight, so we must take it seriously and start preparing now. To this end, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expecting the Council to compile a list of very specific points to discuss with the President of Argentina, including potential memoranda of cooperation. Another key topic is setting up a Latin American section at the 2018 St Petersburg International Economic Forum. The Ministry is ready to discuss the Council’s involvement in this.”

Sergey Nosov, Deputy Director of the Department for Asia, Africa and Latin America of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, said, “The Ministry of Economic Development welcomes the revival of the Council. I would also like to send my congratulations to Andrey Guryev, who was appointed Deputy Chair of the Russian part of the Intergovernmental Russian-Argentinian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation. It is very important for us to have an ongoing direct dialogue between the business community and the government to make sure there is a steady flow of proposals and initiatives that come from businesses and that we can support at the governmental level. This is a practice that has proved to be quite effective this year. A great example is the lifting of the customs duty on Russia's diammonium phosphate (DAP).”

Tatiana Legchilina, Deputy Director of the Foreign Economic Relations and Business Councils Department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia, said, “The Chamber of Commerce and Industry appreciates the vigorous approach taken by the Council to revive its activities. We wish Andrey Guryev every success going forward, and are ready to offer any support that might be needed.”

Victor Cherepov, Executive Vice President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), said, “My congratulations to all participants of the Council's business mission to Argentina. It was a success. We were relying on our track record of cooperation between the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia – a move that delivered some very good results. I can say that probably no one had expected the Council to revive so quickly and productively, but it did, thanks to Andrey Guryev’s leadership and determination. On 9 February 2018, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs will be holding its congress, which will be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Following a meeting of the intergovernmental commission one day earlier, we will be delighted to invite representatives of the business community of Russia and Argentina to our event.”

Andrey Guryev, CEO of PhosAgro, member of the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Chairman of the Russia–Argentina Council of Entrepreneurs, thanked everyone for the opportunity to represent the Russian business community during the visit of Argentina's President Mauricio Macri and the intergovernmental commission. He said, “Today, our key target is to shape the agenda of the Russian business community. This is a challenge, but I am sure we can get it done even in the short time frame we have left. We already have four companies – Russian Railways, Sinara – Transport Machines, RUSAL, and PhosAgro – willing to contribute and come up with specific proposals for the upcoming meetings as part of the dialogue between Russia and Argentina.”